Venison Breakfast Sausage is made with a combination of ground venison and pork with sage, thyme, and sugar-free maple syrup. This zero-carb breakfast meat is a delicious side to an Apple Dutch Baby or a sausage, egg, and cheese sandwich made with an Asiago Bagel.
Breakfast is only complete on the weekends when there is a side of bacon or sausage. Since we have plenty of ground venison in our freezer, I love to make our own breakfast sausage with it.
What to do with the ground venison in your freezer
Our freezer is normally full of wild game meat and ground venison is my favorite of all to make recipes with. You can do so much with this ground meat and it is very versatile. It can be used in any ground meat recipe. The sky is the limit!
I love to make Air Fryer Meatballs and BBQ Cheddar Meatloaves with ground venison, and now, I am happy to have this Venison Breakfast Sausage recipe on file. What I love about these breakfast sausages, is after you make them, you can shape them and freeze for later use.
What you need to make Venison Breakfast Sausage
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Ground Venison: you will need about ¾ pound of ground venison.
Ground Pork: I like to add extra pork to the ground venison to give it more fat and extra flavor.
Fresh Thyme and Sage: I love fresh herbs best in this recipe.
Sugar-Free Maple Syrup: I use this brand (use the code grumpyshoneybunch to get 10% off your order!)
Air Fryer: I highly recommend the air fryer to make these Venison Breakfast Sausages. The air fryer will cook the sausages perfectly. They will be browned on the outside and deliciously juicy on the inside.
Make this zero carb recipe your own way
- Use all ground venison and add a couple of tablespoons of duck fat for added fat.
- Substitute ½ dried thyme and 1 teaspoon rubbed sage for the fresh herbs.
- Paleo dieters can use pure maple syrup in place of the sugar-free.
- Substitute 2 tablespoons golden monkfruit for the sugar-free maple syrup
- Add 1 teaspoon fennel seeds to the sausage mixture
- Stir in 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes for a spicy-sweet Venison Breakfast Sausage.
- If you are not keto, you can use brown sugar in place of the sugar-free syrup.
- Substitute pork sausage in place of ground pork.
Tips for making this recipe
I highly recommend the air fryer for this recipe. I have made it in the skillet and in the air fryer, and the air fryer gives a much better end result.
What I love about this Venison Breakfast Sausage in the air fryer the most is it doesn't stick, and there is no need to flip and cook. The air circulates around the deer sausage as it is cooking, browning it all over and perfectly sealing the juices inside.
When I made these in the skillet, no matter how low I turned the heat, the breakfast sausage wanted to burn and stick to the pan. I believe this is because of the sweetener in the venison sausage mixture. It did not burn nor stick in the air fryer.
Ways to enjoy this breakfast sausage
Make a batch of Keto Pancakes and serve them with some sugar-free maple syrup and a couple of these venison breakfast sausages.
These sausages also go great with these Blueberry Waffles (keto recipe).
A couple of these sausages and a Paleo Pumpkin Muffin makes a great start to your day.
Are you new to using the air fryer? If so, then be sure to read this post on How To Use an Air Fryer to learn the best one to buy, air fryer cooking tips, cleaning tips, and more!
*If you made this recipe for Venison Breakfast Sausage, please give it a star rating*
Venison Breakfast Sausage - Air Fryer Recipe
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Ingredients
- ¾ pound ground venison
- 6 ounces ground pork
- 7 leaves fresh sage minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme
- 2 tablespoons sugar free maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the ground venison, pork sage, thyme, syrup, and salt.
- Using a large cookie scoop (¼ cup size) scoop 10 equal-sized meatballs and shape into patty form.
- Place venison breakfast sausage patties in the air fryer, and cook at 375 degrees for 15 minutes, or until internal temperature is at 145 degrees.
Video
Notes
- These venison breakfast sausage patties can be frozen once shaped. Using a small square of parchment or wax paper, layer the sausages on top of each other and then wrap in plastic wrap, place in a freezer bag, and freeze up to 3 months. Thaw any patties completely before cooking as instructed. Be sure to use discount code grumpyshoneybunch when purchasing the sugar-free maple syrup for 10% off your order.
